Attached I-Cord

The pink edge in the image above above is an Attached I-cord. Attached I-cords are a great way to finish a knit edge. They’re a clean alternative to messy selvedges; they help flatten a rolling edge; and they can add an exciting blast of color. There are lots of ways to knit an attached I-cord. Here’s how I do it. –Whitney

If the cast on end of the I-cord is going to meet the bind off end, I suggest using a provisional cast on so you can graft the two ends for a neat finish (for instructions on grafting two live ends, please visit our Kitchener Stitch Tutorial). If the ends aren’t going to meet, use a regular long tail cast on. Since this tutorial comes from the Mary Jane Slippers where the ends do meet, I’ll use a provisional cast on here (see our Provisional Cast On Tutorial for help).

After casting on, do not turn the work the way you normally would to knit the next row. Instead, slide the stitches down the double pointed needle to the right end. The working yarn is coming from the far left stitch. Bringing the yarn around the back, knit the first stitch. (If you’ve never knit an I-Cord, you may want to consult our basic I-Cord Tutorial for in-depth instructions of the steps.)

Knit until there is 1 stitch remaining on the left needle. Slip this stitch as if to purl.

Bring the yarn forward in a yarn over. Dip the needle into the edge of the knitting, and bringing the yarn around to knit, pick up a stitch.

There are now 2 more stitches on the needle than the original cast on (in this case, 6). Pass the 2nd and 3rd stitches (ie the slipped stitch and the yarn over) over the picked up stitch. You should now have the original number of stitches on the needle (4).

Slide the stitches down to the right end of the needle and repeat the process: k to the last stitch, slip 1, yo, pick up a st, sl 2 st over.

Note: These instructions are especially suited for a contrasting color I-cord. If the I-cord is the same color as the knitting, you don’t need to yarn over and you can just slip the last stich, pick up a stitch, and pass the slipped stitch over the picked up stitch.

If you are following this tutorial in order to make the Mary Jane Slippers, you will complete the two ends of your Attached I-cord by grafting them together using the Kitchener Stitch. Please visit our Kitchener Stitch Tutorial for complete instructions.

64 Responses to Attached I-Cord

This is great! Thank you for posting these instructions. I’ve put off finishing my EZ February sweater because I couldn’t figure out the icord edge. With these instructions, I can finish the project and my hubby will be very happy to get the unfinished sweater off his desk.

Thank you SO much! I had just finished the contrast i-cord edge on a Tomten Jacket for my son and it looked so messy with all of the sweater color showing through… so I ripped it all out. For my second try I used this tutorial and now it looks great! Thank you for the clear pictures and that helpful yarn over tip!

I am doing this up the side of a garment with a selvedge edge, it won't be meeting itself in a circle as with your slippers. So, my question is, what do you do after you've picked up the last stitch? How do you neatly dispense with those last four stitches on the needle w/out having a little tail of I-cord at the edge of the garment?

thank you so much for this great tutorial. i found lots of different techniques online, and tried them. but your's creates the best clean attached edge. i was worried i wouldn't be able to follow, but your pictures and descriptions are excellent! thank you for posting. i love this site!

Oh, I also linked to your site's homepage…I saw other requests, so it looks like it's ok to do that. Let me know if it's not ok and I'll change 🙂 I'm using up my stash, and made a bigger version of your modern baby blanket with an i-cord. I thank you, and my giant stash pile thanks you!

I was just flicking through the purl bee. I am so pleased I found it. It is so informative I just had to send an email. I have only been a member for about 2 months.I hope I am doing the right thing. I have been knitting for the last 60 plus years. I still find looking at wool and patterns. My grandchildren and great grand children do not like hand knitting garments any more. Regards Lily

I love this question because there's a great answer! When you get to a corner, knit 1 row of the I-cord without attaching it (in other words, just knit the I-cord stitches and slide them to the right end of the needle), then pick up a stitch at the corner (i.e. knit one row of Attached I-cord), make 1 more row without attaching, and then continue the Attached I-cord as usual.

I'm looking for instructions to graft together a built in I-cord (such as some of the bonnets have in Knit One, Knit All by EZ). Is it really just kitchener too? I don't want to start until I know for fear of really making a mess! Thanks!

If you used a Provisional Cast On for your Attached I-cord, then yes, you do use the Kitchener Stitch to graft the two ends together. However, if you cast on the I-cord using a regular long tail cast on (or something like it), then you'll have to bind off the I-cord and just sew the ends together, which creates a seam and so isn't quite as neat a solution!

Thanks for asking! Please let us know if you have any other questions!

Hello!Is there a recommended limit to how many stitches around the I-cord can/should be?Also, do you have any tips for using an attached I-cord to finish the work when it will run across a row of live stitches?Thank you very much!

I don't know that there is any limit to how many stitches an I-cord can be! My best recommendation would be that the I-cord be whatever size is in good proportion to the thing it is attaching to.

I have never attached an I-cord to live stitches (that I can remember!), but you should be fine if you simply knit the live stitch (at the end of the I-cord row) instead of picking up a stitch. Try it!

Thanks so much for your questions. Please let us know if you have more and good luck!

Hi!
This is my first time on your site. I was specifically looking for this tutorial. Thank you so much for the pictures. I am a left-handed knitter so seeing it as well as reading the instructions helps me to work it correctly on my projects.

Hi There!
Is there any chance you can upload a video-tutorial for the attached i-cord? I’ve been struggeling on this stitch for hours (I want to finish the city cape). Please, please, please, I’m really going mad since I can’t figure out how to hold/ where to place the yarn.
Best wishes from Germany
Anna 🙂

Click here for a video that should certainly help you with making the attached i-cord! Note that the video is just a little bit different than our own picture tutorial, found here. If you like, you can certainly follow the video’s directions alone, or you can use it as a supplement to our picture tutorial. If you are using the video as a supplement, just remember that you will need to add the extra yarn-over (not shown in the video) just before picking up a stitch in the side of the work. Then remember that you will slip 2 stitches over the picked up stitch (not just 1 as shown in the video).

Im knitting a skirt from side way (starting using provisional cast on) in order to incorporate short rows to provide flare to the design of the skirt
now im having a rolling edge problem (rolling towards the wrong side) at the bottom of the skirt which is actually the side/selvedge edge (as im knitting side way)

im writing to obtain your help on how to flatten the rolled edge.
im thinking of adding i-cord at the bottom of the skirt to flatten the rolled edge by:

(1) first picking up stitches from the botton of the skirt (which is actually the side/selvedge edge) using circular needle – the pick up will be done part by part and not all in one go
(2) slide the needle to the other end of the circular needle in order to start knitting the i-cord
(3) knit the i-cord

my questions:

– for (1) above, when i start picking up, do i pick up with right side facing me? or with wrong side facing me? (in deciding from which side (right side facing me or wrong side facing me) do i need to take into considertion whether the edge is rolling towards the right side or the wrong side?)
– for (3), will adding the i-cord help to flatten the rolling edge?

Normally, you would pick up with the right side facing you, but since your edge is rolling toward the wrong side, it might make more sense, in this case, to pick up with the wrong side facing you. I think you may have to experiment a little!

And, yes, an Attached I-cord usually does help to flatten edges, and often flattens them completely. (Blocking also helps.)

It sounds like you have a good plan. I encourage you to pursue it and to ask us any questions you may have along the way!

Great tutorial thank you! I’m using this on a pair of slippers instead of a plain cuff. I found it helped me keep my yarn over in order if I did it before slipping the last stitch instead of after. Just makes things go smoother.

Thank you for writing in! If your working needle with the live stitches is in your right hand you should be picking up stitches on the blanket to the left of your needled. If your needle with live stitches is in your left hand, then you will be picking up stitches on the right. I hope this helps you!

Hi!
I am ready to put the i-cord on the Silken Straw Summer Sweater, but I have one question….When I start picking up the stitches to the edge, should I pick up right side or wrong side facing me?
Thank you very much

I am new to the attached I cord binding and am currently using it on the marbled eleventh hour blanket. I have done two sides and feel it is ” drawing” up too tight causing the blanket to be smaller than it was before I started. I have tried to relax my knitting but am concerned that if I don’t pull the yarn on the first stitch tautly then it won’t form the tube. Any advice would be appreciated. Am I knitting too tight? Would it be better to skip stitches? Just not sure how to ease it up.

Thanks for writing in! I think that I can help! It does seem like you might be knitting too tight. I would not suggest skipping stitches as that would cause the i-cord edging to be even tighter. Generally, in these situations, I go up a needle size and that solves the issue as it loosens the gauge more than you can by trying to knit looser. Additionally, you do not need to pull the first stitch too tight to create the tube. You can always try to pull it looser and see how it looks after a few rounds. I am always a proponent of ripping out what does not look good to you! Better to be happy with the final product and reknit a portion a few times than not enjoy your finished product!

I am wanting to add an i cord to a baby blanket I just finished. I have one 50 gram ball of yarn left over to do it with… is there any kind of rough math I can do to know if I have enough before I start and only have enough to get 1/2 way through?

Thanks for writing us. It all depends on how large the blanket is and what kind of yarn you are using. In my experience, 50g should be enough but you can also test this. I would knit six or more inches on attached i-cord and then rip it out, tying a knot to indicate how much yarn you used for this expanse of the i-cord. Now you know that this measurement of yarn equals however many inches you knit in attached i-cord. With some simple math you’ll be able to figure out if you have enough yarn based on the yardage and the total combined length of the edges. I hope this helps!

Thank you so much for this! It really cleared up a few questions I had about how to attach an I-Chord without it looking wonky (or having tension problems at the point of attachment). And it really does make a good edging for things, if you don’t want to do a chain-stitch selvedge or ribbing.

I added a contrasting color attached I-Cord edging to a blanket and grafted the ends together using a kitchener stitch, I think (I’m a bit of a beginner, so I’m not sure exactly what I did :-)). But now I have two tails that I’m not sure what to do with. If I weave them into the main color of the blanket they will show too much and it would also be too noticeable to weave them into the i-cord edging (if even possible). Can I just pull the tails down into the center of the i-cord? Thanks in advance for the help!

Thanks for writing in! I would suggest weaving them into the the i-cord itself and then pulling the tails down the center of the i-cord. This will hide the ends without interfering with the neat color separation from the body of the blanket.